China
Across many Chinese traditions, flavor is built by layering fresh aromatics (ginger, scallion, garlic), liquid seasonings (light/dark soy, Shaoxing wine, vinegar), condiments (oyster sauce, fermented black beans, chili oils/pastes), and stocks. Dry spices are used more sparingly, in more specific roles than in Indian or North African styles. That said, several Chinese regions and formats do lean on dry spices, like Sichuan or Hunan.
Distinct regional seasoning patterns stand out. Sichuan uses lots of chili peppers, doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste), and Sichuan peppercorn, creating the signature mala – numbing and hot – profile. Hunan cuisine favors fresh chili, garlic, and vinegar for sharper, cleaner heat. Cantonese cooking keeps flavors lighter, using oyster sauce, soy, and ginger to highlight freshness. Northern regions use more garlic, leeks, and soy paste, while eastern cuisines, like Jiangsu and Zhejiang, balance sweet and savory through rice wine and mild vinegar.
Dry spices are used selectively. Star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, and Sichuan peppercorn form the well-known five-spice blend, common in braises. Other additions, such as white pepper, dried tangerine peel, and sand ginger, appear in regional marinades or stocks.
China developed one of the world’s most sophisticated fermentation traditions, using grains, beans, and vegetables; all these products contribute much to flavor building: soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, bean pastes, and fermented tofu. These form the core of seasoning in Chinese cooking, similar to how olive oil structures Mediterranean cuisines. The scale and variety of Chinese fermentation — combining molds, yeasts, and bacteria — have no close equivalent elsewhere.
SPICE MIXES
CHINESE FIVE-SPICE POWDER – the most famous blend, combining star anise, cassia (Chinese cinnamon), cloves, fennel seeds, and Sichuan peppercorn. It’s used in marinades, braised meats, and roasts to add warmth and fragrance. Ratios vary by region, but the idea is to capture a full range of aromatic notes—sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and pungent.
THIRTEEN-SPICE POWDER– a more elaborate northern blend, especially used in Henan cooking. It includes the five-spice base plus additions like galangal, dried ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and black pepper, giving a stronger, more layered aroma. It’s often used for braised meats and street foods like spiced duck necks.
GROUND SICHUAN PEPPER AND CHILI MIX – common in Sichuan cuisine, used as a dry sprinkle (mala seasoning) for noodles, grilled meats, or hot pot dipping.
Apart from these, most Chinese kitchens rely more on fresh aromatics and fermented sauces than on powdered spice blends.
SAUCES
LIGHT SOY SAUCE – thin, salty, and used mainly for seasoning, marinades, and dipping sauces. It provides the primary salty flavor.
DARK SOY SAUCE – thick, dark, and slightly sweet, used to add color and a deeper taste to braised dishes and stews.
OYSTER SAUCE – invented in Guangdong, thick and savory, used to enrich stir-fries and vegetables.
HOISIN SAUCE – sweet, salty, and fermented; used as a glaze, dip, or ingredient in dishes like Peking duck.
DOUBANJIANG – a Sichuan staple seasoning paste, made from fermented broad beans, chili and wheat, aged for months until it develops a deep, intensely savory, smoky taste. Used in spicy dishes such as mapo tofu or twice-cooked pork.
BLACK BEAN SAUCE – made from fermented black soybeans, lending strong, salty depth to meat and seafood dishes. Common in Cantonese and Sichuan cooking
SESAME OIL – brings a nutty aroma and richness, common in noodle dishes and dressings.
SHAOXING RICE WINE – a cooking wine from Zhejiang, used to enhance aroma and remove meat or fish odors.
Morocco
SEASONINGS
Moroccan cuisine combines sweetness with savor and adds spiciness without overwhelming heat. Cumin, coriander, saffron, ginger, and cinnamon are the main spices that give a distinctive profile compared to more subtle Mediterranean cuisines. Dried and fresh chili peppers are used lavishly; mint, fresh cilantro, and parsley freshen up dishes; bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic prevail in aromatics; olives and preserved lemons bring a tangy kick. Orange flower, jasmine, and rose petals water infuses exotic aromas into desserts.
RAS EL HANOUT – a dried spice mix popular in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, blends from a dozen to 80 spices. The name means “head of the shop” – the best spices the seller has to offer. Each shop, company, or family may have their own blend. Common ingredients, though, include cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dry ginger, chili peppers, coriander, black pepper, sweet paprika, fenugreek, and turmeric.
LA KAMA – a lesser-known but traditional Moroccan spice blend that includes black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Also popular in Moroccan cooking are:
Levantine ZA’ATAR – dried oregano, thyme or marjoram, sumac, sesame seeds, salt.
Arabic BAHARAT – black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika.
SAUCES
HARRISA, a hot chili pepper paste made from a variety of chiles, could be the baklouti, guajillo, anaheim, chiles de arbol peppers, along with garlic, coriander, caraway, cumin, and lemon juice (or preserved lemon) and olive oil and is widely used as a marinade, dip or sauce.
CHERMOULA is a marinade and relish used in Moroccan, Algerian, Libyan, and Tunisian cooking, it slightly reassembles the Latin American chimichurri. In Morocco its often used for fish. Frequent ingredients include fresh cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice or preserved lemon, cumin, paprika, chili peppers, salt. It can come in different hues and tones: green (without paprika and red elements, with red tone due to sweet paprika or harrisa and yellow tone due to turmeric (source).
Moroccan cuisine is exclusive with four distinct cooking styles that are both cooking techniques and flavor combinations on the same time: m’hammer (red), m’chermel (marinated), m’qali (fried) and q’dra (skills).
M’HAMMER is a classic way of preparing tagine in which roasted meat is doused in a sauce made of onions, paprika, and cumin. A generous amount of paprika is used, giving sauce a brownish red color, and the meat is cooked in the sauce, its later taken out, charred under the broiler (source) and put back.
M’CHERMEL is a cooking style that is characterized by marinating food in chermoula sauce.
After marinating, food can be cooked in any other style, but the term m’chermel describes the process and style of cooking with this particular marinade.
European tradition cooks usually pan-brown the meat in the beginning before stewing. M’QALLI method is vice versa – first, the meat is stewed, and when it absorbs the broth and becomes tender, is fried. Compulsory spices are ginger, saffron, and turmeric.
Q’DRA is also the name of deep cookware unique for this type of cooking. It involves cooking meat very slowly, until it becomes exceptionally tender. This will be considered the most casual cooking technique; literally what Moroccans will prepare almost every day. (source) A liquid yellow broth is made with saffron and turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, parsley, and smen, while paprika and ginger are never used for this style.
